4. Select a material and a special element

Design the shoes of your dreams

Style

Color

Sole

Color

Special

Material

Ethical factor: Salaries

Made by a worker like Arjana in Tirana, mother of two, and for a monthly pay of 150 francs, including many unpaid overtime hours.Underpaid labour

Made by workers on regular contracts whose monthly pay allows them to meet their and their family’s needs without having to do overtime.Workers earning a living wage.

icon-arbeitssicherheit

Ethical factor: Health and safety

Made by a worker like Ajeta, who has constant headaches caused by the glue, and who doesn’t wear protecting gloves in order to meet her production objectives.Made without any health and safety protection for employees

Made with all the necessary health and safety protection against dangerous chemicals and glue, with a fixed salary rather than paid per shoe, with health and safety checks in place as well as social protection.Health and safety guarantees.

icon-transparenz

Ethical factor: Transparency

Impossible to know in what conditions shoes are made, due to the many sub-contractors involved. It is thus impossible to control working conditions. Made in conditions without transparency

Made in factories clearly identified by the brand throughout the whole production chain.Traceable conditions.

icon-lohn

SalariesMore Information

You have chosen shoes produced by underpaid workers. Millions of employees in the shoe industry live in extreme poverty. Yet their pay represents only 2% of the sales price of shoes. If they were paid a living wage, it would barely impact the price of the shoes.

icon-arbeitssicherheit

Health and safetyMore Information

You have chosen shoes that were made without any health and safety protection for workers. They are the weakest link in the supply chain – and have to pay the price. Low wages are linked to health issues. It is therefore essential to protect both health and safety of the workforce in factories and tanneries. This is the companies’ responsibility.

icon-transparenz

TransparencyMore Information

You have selected an intransparent mode of production, where working conditions cannot be controlled. Transparency is however necessary to guarantee fair working conditions: companies must know their suppliers and subcontractors in order to be aware of the measures they implement to guarantee fair working conditions.

Well done! You opted for a just and fair production of your shoes! But can they really be made in a sustainable way? The current situation in the shoe industry is far from just and fair. It is nearly impossible to find ethically correct shoes in a shop. But you can help to improve the working conditions. We show you how.

The ethical factor of your shoes is not 100%. The shoe industry is unfortunately anything but sustainable: the big brands don’t really care about sustainable and fair working conditions. That makes it nearly impossible to find ethically correct made shoes in shops. But you can help to improve the working conditions. We show you how.

Your engagement for fair shoes.

Thank you for taking part, Spread the word

Demand better working conditions, spread the word to your friends and help us raise awareness about the dark side of the shoe industry.

icon-download

icon-facebook

icon-twitter

icon-whatsapp

icon-fb-messenger

Share your design on the hashtag #myfairshoes or #theshoecreator

Help make the world a better place!

Public Eye is an independent association of over 25 000 members. The Organisation fights against injustices with a significant link to Switzerland and demands the respect of human rights throughout the world.

We act together with our members, because we fully believe in the power of collective action and the ability that we all have to drive positive change. Join our movement!

First steps towards ethical shoes

Discover the hidden face of the shoe industry, its unacceptably low salaries and dangerous chemical products.

Design the shoes of your dreams.

The mistakes of the shoe industry

A new pair of shoes every two months

Almost 23 billion shoes were made in 2015. This corresponds to more than three pairs of shoes per person at a global level. In Switzerland, people buy an average of six pairs of shoes a year. Old ones almost never get repaired. The “fast-fashion” model is now also relevant for the shoe industry. Nowadays people prefer to simply throw away a pair of worn-out shoes, and replace them with a new pair. This behaviour has serious social and ecological consequences.

Paid a pittance

Irrespective of where the shoes are manufactured, companies appear to be only concerned by the lowest possible production costs and shortest production times. And suppliers do not hesitate to outsource work. The further down the supply chain you go, the lower the salaries, and the worse the working conditions. In almost all countries where shoes are made, the shoe industry is one of the sectors with the lowest wages – and the wages paid are often unacceptably low. The income of those working in the shoe factories is far from enough to allow them to live dignified lives.

Patchy protection

The chemicals, glue and cleaning products used in the shoe manufacturing industry may cause poisoning, respiratory problems and asthma. There are heavy loads to be carried, the work is monotonous, and the big machines used represent many different risks. However there is little or no training on these issues. Protective equipment is rarely available. Many female workers explain that they would not be able to work well or fast enough to meet their daily objectives if they had to wear masks or gloves.

Lack of transparency

The supply chains in the shoe industry are complex and lack transparency. Much of the work is done by sub-contractors, and it is hard to get clear information on the sector as a whole. All too often, the brands themselves do not even know where the different parts of their shoes are being made, or where they are being stitched. In order to improve this situation, the connections between working conditions and the brands must be clarified and made transparent. In order to ensure that their rights are respected, workers in the factories should know the brands for whom they work. And consumers should be able to know where, and in what sort of conditions their shoes were made.

Our demands

Discover the daily lot of the workers in the shoe and tanning industries. Learn what companies, states and private individuals can do to help improve working conditions in the shoe industry.

Impressum

Conditions for participating in the “Theshoecreator” competition

Organiser

Public Eye, Zurich/Lausanne

Criteria for participating

Anyone may participate in this competition. Minors may enter the competition with authorisation from their legal representative. The organisation reserves all rights to check that such authorisation has been granted.

You are not required to be a member of the association organising this competition to enter. You just need an Internet connection. By entering the competition you confirm that you accept the terms and conditions, including that the winner’s name and winning design may be published.

This competition will be open

From april 20, 2017 to end of june 2017, local time.

Competition rules

To take part in this competition, the user creates his or her own shoe on the shoecreator.ch website, saves it on the site and fills out the competition form.All users may only participate once in the competition. All additional submissions by the same user will be eliminated from the competition.By taking part in this competition, participants confer the right to reproduce, publish and make their designs freely available on the organiser’s Internet website and social media platforms.

Picking the winner

An independent jury will meet in private to draw the name of the winner from all valid participants. The winner will be contacted by private message. They will then have three days to reply and receive their prize. If the winner fails to respond to the message within three days, the organisers reserve all rights to pick another winner.

Data protection

Under the present rules, the personal data of participants will only be used in and for the competition.

This game-competition is liable to Swiss law. The jury’s decision is final.